Page 24 of A Highlander's Vow

He shifted a bit to separate them, moving so her hand slid from him. “Aye. What is yer special today?”

She threw her long hair over her shoulder and grinned, placing one hand on her hip. “Me.”

God’s bones, if the lass was any more forward she would be pulling Gregory up by his hair and dragging him off.

No longer willing to put up with her, Megan said, “Myhusbandand I will have whatever the specialfrom the kitchenis.” She paused and waved her hand in a dismissal. “Not ye.”

Megan turned back to Gregory and smiled, taking a sip of her ale.

The lass huffed off.

*

Gregory almost chokedon his drink. Megan Sinclair was no one to fool with. She might be a sweet-looking lass, but apparently underneath all that sweetness was a woman of steel.

His opinion of her was certainly changing. She might shake and weep with fear crossing the mountain pass, but his sweet-looking wife surprised him, again.

More than once he wondered what her marriage had been like. Things she told him sounded like she was not very happy. It appeared Robert was not faithful to his marriage vows and other things she said made him believe theirs was not a strong relationship.

Hopefully, the story he’d told her about Robert would show the lass a different sort of man than the one she knew. Given what seemed to have been her experience so far, it was no wonder the lass was not too eager to marry again.

If she agreed to really wed him once they arrived at Castle Leod,since he knew Beth Mackenzie would insist on a proper wedding, he might not wish to give his heart away. He would certainly protect her, provide for her and never embarrass her by seeking other women to warm his bed.

Once they finished their meal and he made certain the lass who continued to drape herself all over him finally realized he was not interested in a tumble with her, he secured a room from the innkeeper, then he and Megan made their way upstairs.

“Oh, my,” Megan said as she looked around the sparse area.

Oh my, indeed. The only good thing to be said about the room was it provided a roof over their heads in case of a rainstorm, and a bed big enough for maybe one person. A very small person, he thought, as he dropped his sack and placed his hands on his hips and looked around the scant quarters.

Megan looked up at him, chewing her lip. “Where will we sleep?”

Gregory held in his grin as he waved toward the bed. “Right there.”

She sucked in a breath. “On top of each other?”

“Aye. I’m afraid so, lass. With no fire, ’tis too cold to sleep anywhere else.”

She studied the bed and looked back and forth between the two of them, then shrugged. “’Tis afraid I am that ye are right.”

His body reacted immediately to her instant consent. The thought of her soft body and gentle curves resting on top of him all night had him thinking that sleeping on the floor might not be a bad idea. Accidental marriage or not, he doubted Megan would consider it just fine to enjoy the consummation of words spoken in front of a witness.

She sat on the bed and smirked at him. “Mayhap yer friend downstairs has a larger bed she would be willing to share with ye.”

Gregory pulled her into his arms and placed his knuckle under her chin, raising her eyes up to meet his. “I hope ye are joking, lass. I was no’ just spewing words when I said I would ne’er share anotherwoman’s bed, especially one who I am certain has probably worn out more than one mattress.”

Megan laughed. “I believe ye are right.”

“’Tis cold in here, so we will need to keep our clothes on, and I’ll wrap my plaid around us.”

He hoped she would not bring up the idea of less clothing being warmer than no clothes as he’d told her before when their clothes were soaked. He didn’t think he could do that again and get through the night without convincing Megan to consummate this accidental marriage.

Although he didn’t think of himself as any great seducer of women, based on what he’d seen from Megan so far, he knew it wouldn’t take much effort on his part.

Since it was late and he wanted an early start in the morning, he removed his boots and climbed onto the bed, his plaid in his hand ready to toss over them. Once he was comfortable—or as comfortable as he would be for the rest of the night, he held out his hand. “Come here, Megan. ’Tis growing late.”

She took a deep breath and nodded. She untied her boots and stood alongside the bed. “Mayhap side by side would work better?”

“We can certainly try it.” He moved over and she climbed in alongside him, and promptly fell to the floor.

“Nay. I’ll sleep on the outside,” Gregory said and hopped off the bed. Megan made her way over to the edge of the bed and banged her head against the wall. There still wasn’t enough room for half his body.

“Lass, ye’re going to injury yerself. I’ll end up squashing ye like a bug during the night. One on top of the other is the best way.”

She was off the bed again and he laid down, then held in the groan once she climbed onto him. He started counting numbers as she wiggled around before she settled.

“Are ye finished, lass?” He knew his voice came out sharp, but hewas struggling.

“Aye.” She rested her head on his chest and he wrapped the plaid around them.

He had counted up into the tens of thousands before he finally drifted off.